Take a Walk On The Blind Side
by Batman and Ronon
Summary: Buffy and Giles find their relationship put to the test when Buffy loses her sight.
1. Chapter 1

"Buffy, you're sure you know how to use that?"

"Positive"

"It's just that, well it's not very traditional, is it?"

"Giles, relax." Wrapping her two fingers around the trigger, she squeezed it almost tentatively. Almost immediately a short jet of fire streamed from the weapon, startling Buffy. Instinctively jumping back, she released the trigger, a mixture of shock and awe evident on her face. "Flamethrower… very cool."

"Yes, but whatever happened to a good old stake?" Removing his glasses, Giles pulled a cloth from his pocket and began to wipe them. He could never hope to keep up with the teenagers of this age. There recklessness and lack of… common sense.

"Oh come on!" Swinging round to face Giles directly, Buffy grinned, the flamethrower swinging with her, pointing straight at Giles. He took in a sharp gasp of air and stepped round to the side of Buffy, laying a hand on the flamethrower as he came around, lowering the head of it. "This'll make my slaying ten times more efficient."

Giles gave her a sceptical look. "I wasn't aware there was a problem to begin with."

"Well… there wasn't." Buffy lowered her gaze and frowned. As much as she hated to admit it, Giles was usually right about this sort of thing. Stupid Giles and his right-ness.

"Then I think we'd better save this until we're attacked by giant plant demons."

Buffy's eyes widened and she looked back up at Giles. "There are giant plant demons?"

It never ceased to amaze Giles how gullible Buffy could be sometimes. Of course after 4 years training her, he'd grown accustomed to not answering her wilder questions. "Where did you even get that… thing?"

"Xander got it."

"Of course he did." Giles sighed and placed his glasses back on and placed both of his hands on the flamethrower, taking it from her. "Shall we resume weapon techniques?" He could already see any excitement that was once present in Buffy's face, evaporate in seconds.

"You really know how to make a girl feel special don'tcha?" Buffy folded her arms and collapsed into the nearest chair to her, staring bleakly at Giles as he crossed to the weapons cabinet. _I bet no one else has to put up with as much crap as I do._

* * *

"Grothello! Accept my offering."

Somewhere on the other side of Sunnydale, lay a young girl chained to a stone slab, small cuts and bruises all over her body. She yanked hard on the chains that bound her to the slab, her eyes wide with panic as she gazed up at the… thing that was approaching her. In her mind she knew she was dead, she knew she could do nothing to help herself. But there was still that sinking feeling in her gut that told her she was going to be in a hell of a lot of pain before she even got close to dying.

"I hope you know that what you're dying for is a good cause. Ever heard of the slayer?" The woman shook her head vigorously, a tiny squeak of fear escaping her lips. "No? Not in the slightest?" The figure seemed to give her a puzzling look, but it was hard for the woman to tell with the lack of natural light around. "Oh well, we haven't really got that much time to lose, so if you don't mind. Just lie still and try not to make too much of a fuss." The figure approaching her stopped by her side and began muttering something under his breath, some sort of foreign language. Hell, she'd never heard it before. But her attention was caught on the long knife held in the figures right hand. Up above the clouds seemed to part and the moonlight shone through onto the stone slab, illuminating it in a brilliant shine. Symbols on the slab began to glow a blood red colour in a circle around her body. "Accept this sacrifice." The woman looked up towards the figure as he began to speak and she caught her first glance at his true face now that there was light on it. Her lips parted and she shrieked at the sight before her. Quick as a flash, the figure's hand twitched and he raised the knife, plunging it into one of her eyes, her following screams filling the night air.

_

* * *

_

A/N – Cue to the Buffy title sequence!

_Okay, so this is hopefully the first part in a story that I hope will play out in an episodic format._

_Hey, who knows, if this one goes well, I might start writing an entire season. But let's not get ahead of ourselves too early._

_So sit back, read and enjoy. Feedback is greatly appreciated._


	2. Chapter 2

Taking a kick to the stomach, Buffy staggered backwards, her eyes falling shut. She hated it when the vampires fought back, why couldn't they just walk onto her stake? Placing her hands on the nearest tombstone, Buffy pushed herself up and ran straight towards the vamp. Raising her fist she slammed it into the vamps cheek, followed up by an elbow to the chin. The vampire didn't seem phased by any of this and simply charged her to the ground. Grunting loudly, Buffy, struggled against the vamp as it pinned her to the ground. Looking towards Giles, she frowned. "You know…" Buffy raised a leg and, using all her remaining strength, kicked the vampire off of her. Pushing herself up, she drew out her stake, taking a defensive stance while she gathered her bearings. "I could have taken this guy out by now if you'd let me take out the flamethrower." She threw Giles a smirk over her shoulder and then sprinted towards the vampire.

"Nothing you can say will possibly change my mind." Leant against the nearest mausoleum with a flask in his hand, Giles sighed quietly. If there was one thing to be said about Buffy, it's that she was stubborn. Taking a sip from the flask, Giles glanced around the cemetery as Buffy delivered a round house kick to the vampires jaw, sending it onto all fours. As it tried to regain its composure, she punched it across the face, keeping it down. Kicking it in the stomach, the vampire rolled onto its back, and frantically tried to scramble to its feet. Before it even had a chance to try, Buffy raised the stake and plunged it into the vampire's heart.

As the vampire turned to dust, Buffy admired her handiwork for a moment. "I bet Wesley would have let me use a flamethrower."

"Yes… perhaps if you'd held it to his chest and threatened to burn him alive." Giles quick response kept Buffy quiet and a small frown made its way across her features.

"Killjoy." She muttered under her breath. Tucking the stake away in one of her pockets, she scowled and kicked Giles leg lightly. "Let's just get out of here. I don't think there's anymore vamps around…" The world seemed to spin for a moment and Buffy stumbled back, as if an invisible force had just been thrown at her. She held out a hand to support herself on something and called out breathlessly, almost as a whisper. "Giles." A searing, hot red pain shot through her head and she cried out in agony, falling to her knees. Quick as a flash, Giles was by her side, holding out both hands for her. Placing one hand on the back of her head, he cupped it in his palm, holding Buffy against him, while his other hand struggled to keep her upright.

"Buffy!" It felt like something was crawling inside of her head, eating away at everything it could find. She clamped her eyes shut and held both of her hands to her head, clawing at her hair, tugging hard on it, just trying to find a way to make the pain stop. Grabbing one of her hands, Giles held it tightly stopping her before she hurt herself. "Buffy! What is it? What's wrong?" He looked around desperately, looking for something, anything to help him. Feeling Buffy's hand against his chest, Giles looked down and barely had time to react before she put all her force into it and pushed Giles away, sending him flying to the ground a couple of metres away. She let out one last agonising, blood-curdling; scream before she fell back to the floor, motionless.

Pushing himself from the floor, Giles gazed in horror as his ward lay on the ground without so much as a sign of life in her. "Buffy?"

* * *

The next few minutes became a blur to Giles. One moment he'd been sent flying by across the graveyard by Buffy, next he was making his way back over to her, and the next he had her cradled in his arms and he was carrying her to safety. Not that Sunnydale was ever safe.

He kept telling himself Buffy was going to be all right. He would get her to the hospital, they'd help her and she'd be back to normal within the week. But from just the way she looked, her pale, cold skin, the way her lips were parted, showing no signs of life, her now fragile body hanging limply in his arms, Giles could tell she was far from okay.

The deathly silence in the graveyard was suddenly broken by the sound of clapping from just behind Giles. A cheeky yet malevolent laugh followed shortly afterwards. With his heart pumping wildly in his chest, and his blood coursing round his veins, Giles turned around to face the source of the noise. Sat perched on one of the tombstones he had passed not moments ago, a tall, smart-looking figure, smirked at him and waved his hand. "The Watcher and The Slayer, how cute." Jumping from the tombstone, the man brushed two hands down his jacket, straightening it out. "Sorry I don't believe we've met. Name's Samuel." He extended a hand out towards Giles, breaking into a soft chuckle. "Sorry, I see you've got your hands a little full there." He added, with a nod towards Buffy. Giles eyes flared wide open and it took all the energy he had to not lash out. Of course if he did that now there's a risk he'd hurt Buffy and he couldn't take that chance. Not now and certainly not like this.

"If you have any sense you'll leave now." Crossing towards one of the tombstones near to him, Giles knelt down and placed Buffy's back against it, making sure to get her in a comfortable position.

"Ooh! An unconscious slayer and an old man, I'm quaking with fear." Samuel smirked and he stepped towards the two of them. As he grew closer, Giles could see the familiar signs of a vampire, pointy teeth, lumpy forehead, arrogance and a questionable lack of fashion sense. Hearing a soft moan from beside him, Giles turned his attention back to Buffy who seemed to be stirring from unconsciousness. Tilting her head back, he placed his palm on her cheek, brushing some hair from her face. "Hold on," he whispered to her.

"You know I didn't think the spell would take effect so quickly, but just look at her." Giles raised his head when hearing this, his brow furrowing. Getting to his feet, he turned to Samuel, one of his fists clenching.

"Are you… are you saying you had something to do with this?" Giles literally spat out the last few words, and his breathing had suddenly become a lot heavier.

Nodding quickly, Samuel smirked, running his tongue along his teeth. "Pretty nifty huh?" Giles reacted instantly to this, lunging at the vampire with all of his strength, his fist connecting with the vampire's gut. Moving with a new-found vigour, Giles used his other hand and struck Samuel across the jaw. Raising his leg he went to kick Samuel back, his foot stopping midway as Samuel grabbed it with his hands. Growling loudly, Samuel flipped Giles leg, sending him straight to the floor. Placing a hand on Giles jaw, he picked the watcher up, forcing him to look him in the face. "Nice try gramps. But the slayer is mine." Giles struggled in Samuel's grasp, raising a fist to hit him again, but getting blocked once more by one of Samuel's own hands. "Any last words?" Giles reared his head as far as he could and spat in the vampire's face. Samuel liked someone with fight in them, and this old fool certainly had some in him. Maybe he wouldn't kill the watcher after all. But he wasn't going to let him go, now was he? Striking Giles across the face, Samuel knocked him out cold. Releasing his hold on him, Samuel let him fall back against the ground. Not giving the watcher a second thought, the vampire crossed over to the slayer, whose eyes had begun to open lazily. Kneeling down in front of her, he grinned widely. He was so close to her, he could smell her sweet blood pumping weakly through her veins. Placing a hand on her head he tilted it to one side, revealing her bare neck. He was tempted to drain her then and there, but he had much bigger plans for her. He was gonna make her suffer.

"G-Giles..?" Buffy spoke up wearily, still trying to regain her full strength.

Samuel tried to remember the watchers accent. British was it? God, that was going to be hard to mimic. Putting on the best British accent he could, Samuel replied. "It's me, Giles, your watcher. Just go back to sleep sla-" He stopped for a moment, racking his brain for the slayer's name and turning up nothing. "Just go back to sleep." Buffy mumbled something incoherent and turned her head to the side, drifting back into unconsciousness. Getting back to his feet, Samuel frowned to himself. "I think that came out a little more Australian than British." He remarked with a mild shake of his head. "Ah well, I'm burning sunlight here. So to speak." Leaning down, he picked up the slayer with both arms and slung her over his shoulder. "I've got big plans for you and your watcher, slayer." Grinning widely, Samuel began walking towards Giles, Buffy slung helplessly over his shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

There was something dripping a few feet away from him. That was the first thing Giles noticed when he slipped back into consciousness. This seemed a little strange to him, but the fact he was still alive was enough for him. Had last night all been a dream? Had he just fallen asleep while reading and was Buffy at home and she was alright. His question was answered when he went to raise a hand to his throbbing head, only to realise that his hands seemed to be bound to a chair behind his back. Forcing his eyes to open wide, he groaned in pain, his whole body aching all over. Scanning the dark room around him, his eyes began to focus a little. This of course was useless. The room was so dark it was impossible to see two feet in front of you. He tugged on the ropes that bound his hands, which seemed to accomplish nothing but cause him more pain.

There was a hard grind of metal just ahead of him and a door swung open, artificial light flooding the dark room. "Rise and shine Rupert." Freezing cold and dirty water was thrown over Giles, drenching him from head to toe. Giles winced and shivered all over, turning his head away from the silhouette stood in the doorway.

His teeth chattered and it took all of his willpower not to cry out in protest. Turning back to face the figure, that he was sure was Samuel, Giles cleared his throat. "W-where am I..? Who…? Where's Buffy?"

Despite the fact Giles couldn't see the vampire's face, he was sure that he was grinning. "Shhh! There'll be time for your petty questions later. First it's my turn." The vampire stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving the room in total darkness again. "The darkness is a vampire's best friend Rupert. Do you mind if I call you Rupert?" Giles kept silent and raised his head in defiance, staring straight ahead. "Silent type huh? I respect that. But believe me Rupert." Giles jumped slightly as he felt a pair of hands on either of his shoulders. "I'll make you scream by the end of this." Samuel pushed himself up, chuckling darkly as he released his hands from Giles shoulders.

"Barely two hours ago, I'd have killed you Rupert. But I decided to keep you around for a while. I mean the slayers watcher. You've gotta be worth something right?" Giles could hear the vampire's footsteps as he circled him. "So I started doing a little research on you Rupert, and I stumbled upon some pretty interesting information. Would you like to know what that was… Ripper?"

Giles raised his head, his lips parting in confusion. "What did you call me?"

"Well that is your name isn't it?"

"Not anymore. W-who did you get your information from?" Giles seemed to adopt a sudden urgency in his voice. How could this vampire possibly know about his past?

"I don't think that's important, do you?" Samuel smirked to himself, knowing he was getting Giles.

"Where's Buffy?" Giles wasn't going to play this vampire's game any longer. Samuel was gonna have to play by his terms.

"Ah of course." Then vampire began laughing lightly. "That parental bond you have with the slayer. I was counting on you having that."

"Where is she!" Giles tugged on the ropes hard, swinging his head in the direction of where he thought the vampire was.

"All in good time gramps."

"No! Now dammit! Where the bloody hell is she?"

Moving round to stand in front of Giles, Samuel smirked, his tone little more than a whisper. "The slayer is your weakness. And I'm going to use that to my advantage. If you don't feel like cooperating at the moment, I can just move onto her. See if I can make her spill."

"Don't you touch her."

"Or what?" Patting Giles on the cheek with the palm of his hand, he grinned widely and stepped back over to the door. "Chin up Ripper." Pulling the door wide open, he stepped back out of the room. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be back. But if I'm honest, I want to see the slayer bleed and scream."

"Samuel. Samuel!" The large metal door slammed shut. "Samuel!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Buffy Summers."

"Yeah, and you are?" The other person did not answer. Buffy struggled on the chains, holding her against the wall. She didn't know how long she'd been trapped her but it felt like weeks. In reality of course she'd only been go a few hours. She hadn't been able to see anything in the pitch black room the entire time and her body ached as if she'd been beaten to a bloody pulp.

The last thing she remembered was kicking some vampire's ass, whining at Giles, a sharp pain running through her head, and then she'd woken up here. Wherever here was.

"You know I don't much like being kept in the dark. Figuratively and literally." Buffy waited a few seconds for a reply, bleakly looking ahead. "Helloooooooooooo-?"

"Please stop talking." Buffy closed her mouth and did as the figure commanded, which surprised even her. Maybe it was the suddenness of his order. Deciding to stay silent for the sake of an argument she couldn't really win while chained up, she turned her head, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Buffy Summers. Active slayer in Sunnydale for the past 4 years and 3 months. Killed numerous vampires and demons alike. Averted a total of 5 apocalypses and been an all round pain in the ass to my kind." Samuel threw his head back and chuckled, the sound echoing off of the walls. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to meet you."

"Oh yeah? Well could you turn on some lights around here? Geez, it's not the dark ages anymore. See what I did there? That's punny funny."

The vampire sniggered, stepping closer to Buffy. "The lights are already on."

"Well… they're not very good." There was a slight hesitation in Buffy's voice as she glanced around herself, looking for the supposed lights.

"Oh they work fine. You just can't see them."

"Why? W-where are they?" Glancing over her shoulder as much as she could while chained up, she saw nothing but more blackness. Never-ending blackness.

"Oh this is the best bit. I've been waiting for this." A wide grin broke out along Samuel's face. "You're blind slayer."

It felt like someone had stabbed Buffy in the chest. Blind? "No! I'm not blind, you're l-"

"Lying?" Sorry to burst your bubble Summers but you're blind. Blind as a bat."

"You're a vampire. It's what you do. Lie." Buffy was desperate for some way out of this. For this to be an elaborate yet absolutely fake scheme. Or for it to be a trick, or a dream, or a really bad April Fool's joke in the middle of November.

The enjoyment and thrill in Samuel's voice was hard to miss now. "Afraid not slayer. How else do you think I managed to get you here without a struggle?"

"Maybe it's the fact I was unconscious." Buffy spat back at him, her eyes wide with fear and rage.

"Still got some fight in you I see. That's adorable."

"Why don't you let me out of these chains and I'll show you how adorable I can be."

"Tempting." He moved straight up to Buffy, raising a hand and running it through her hair. She turned from his touch, shuddering slightly. "But I think I'd rather have all the fun myself. Call me selfish." Drawing a small knife from his jacket he ran the side of it down Buffy's cheek, the sudden feel of his cold metal on her skin making her gasp. "Let's get started shall we?"

* * *

_A/N_

_Okay so this chapters kinda short and lame. It's a build-up to a much larger and more involving story. Like the second Pirates of the Caribbean was to At Worlds End. Except that film was kind of crappy too…_

_Mine's better._

_Enjoy._


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh God stop! Please stop!" Finishing off one last cut across her forearm, Samuel pulled the knife back, twirling it in his hands as he admired his piece of art. Buffy was covered from head to toe in cuts. Blood was running slowly but surely from pretty much all of them, soaking her skin and clothes in blood. It had taken him a few hours to get her like this but it was time well spent. Her whole body was shaking and it had taken all of her effort to even speak to up to him. The fact she was blind meant Samuel could cut at her anywhere and she wouldn't be able to prepare for it. He'd made sure to avoid the major arteries and to use shallow cuts so she wouldn't die as quickly.

"Had enough?"

Buffy sighed restlessly, her body limply hanging from the chains. "Yes… yes, just let me go. Please. I'll do anything. Just stop.."

"You think I want you for anything? All I want is to see you suffer slayer." Buffy whimpered and bowed her head, turning it to one side, tugging on the chains in frustration. "But maybe you have earned some rest. How about I give you 15 minutes break while I go see your watcher. See if he's as resilient as you are."

Buffy's head flew up. "If you touch him, I'll-"

"You'll what? Talk me to death?" Samuel leaned in close to her and placed the tip of the knife under Buffy's chin and began turning it slowly, drawing a few droplets of blood. "Stick around." She spat in his face. She was so far beyond coming up with witty retorts at this point.

She felt the knife pull away from her chin and heard his footsteps as they moved towards the other side of the room. The door swung open and she listened to his footsteps as they retreated further away. The door shut with a slam and Buffy fell back against the wall, slowly sliding down it till she sat on the floor, her arms raised high, the chains still keeping them up. She brought her legs up to her chest, wincing in pain as a few of the cuts began to open once more, new blood oozing slowly out of them. There were times back there when she wished the vampire would kill her and get it over with. Times she'd cursed Giles for not getting her back home safely. Times she'd wished she could be anything rather than the slayer.

"_Buffy._" A disembodied voice broke her chain of thoughts and she glanced around herself out of reflex. Not that it did any good with her recent case of blindness. "_Buffy, can you hear me_?" It was hard to make out whose voice it was exactly, it seemed so distant, but she had a pretty good idea who it was.

"Giles? Is that you? Giles, where are you? I.. I can't see. I think I'm blind." She began to reach out with one of her hands as best as she could to see if she could touch him.

"_I'm still in my cell." _Buffy looked puzzled for a moment and moved her hand round to the other side of her, feeling that way. "_I'm speaking through your mind."_

She retracted her hand immediately, looking slightly embarrassed and slumped back against the wall. "You can do that?"

"_Apparently so._"

"Giles, are you okay? Has that vampire made it to your cell yet? Has he hurt you?

"_No. Buffy listen you've got to get out of there."_

"Giles, I can't see. How am I suppo-"

"_I'll be your eyes. I can see exactly what you should be seeing right now."_

"How? I mean if I'm blind shouldn't you be seeing, well nothing?"

"_You're not blind. Not physically at least. There's been some sort of curse put on you. It makes your mind think you're blind, when in actual fact your sight is just fine._" Buffy looked more puzzled than ever and her silence was evidence of that. "_Look just trust me okay. I can see what you see." _

Buffy paused for a few seconds while she mulled over the information she'd just been given. "Can you hear my thoughts?"

"_No."_

"Oh. Good."

"_Yes it's terrific, now just stand up and get out of there already._"

"Someone's cranky."

"_You have no idea._" Buffy, wrapped her hands around the chain and pulled herself up, her body aching at the sudden exertion of movement. "Listen Giles, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm kind of chained up here."

"_Buffy you've been imbued with the power of the slayers; I think you can pull a simple chain down." _With her hands still wrapped around the chain, Buffy yanked down hard on it, some plaster from the ceiling raining down on her as she did. "_I'm suddenly filled with confidence._" She groaned out in frustration and pulled on it hard again and again, more plaster raining down on her. Taking one last yank on it, she heard a crack form in the ceiling and a second later the chain came loose, falling to the ground and pooling by her feet. "_Good. Now we just need to get you out of this room."_

* * *

The door to Giles cell opened and Samuel stepped inside. Giles looked up towards him, opening his eyes as he did. "You took your time."

"I was having fun with your little slayer friend." Flicking a switch by the door, the lights in Giles cell flickered on weakly and Samuel pulled a chair from the wall. Placing it in front of Giles with the back of the chair facing him, Samuel sat down, placing his arms over the back of it and resting it chin on his arms. "I gotta say, that whole slayer's healing fast thing came in real handy when I wanted to hurt her in the same spot over and over.." Samuel closed his eyes, smirking as he relived the moment. Giles stared blankly at him, chewing the inside of his lip to stop himself from saying anything he'd regret.

"If she's hurt I'll kill you."

"Blah, blah, blah. Sing me a different tune. You know you two are so alike it's unreal. Lighten up Ripper."

"Stop calling me that." Giles fired back quickly, wincing a little every time Samuel used that name.

"Whatever you say Rupert. Well she's fine. Or she will be until I start cutting into her again." Giles jerked forward in his chair, tugging on the restraints ferociously. Samuel didn't even seem to flinch and instead began to laugh a little. A livid Giles slumped back in his chair, scowling, still tugging on the restraints a little. "Do you want to see her?" Raising his head, Giles eyes widened a little, his lips parting. "I thought you would." Standing from the chair, Samuel crossed to the right-hand side of the room and clicked a button on the wall. The wall illuminated as a dozen sets of televisions came to life. The light that emitted from them was something Giles wasn't quite used to, and he was forced to turn his head away to let his eyes adjust. After a few moments, he glanced wearily back at the set of monitors. Most of them seemed to be displaying static or at most dull, almost blackened corridors or rooms. "This can't be!" Looking towards Samuel, Giles frowned, pursing his lips together. "Where is she?" He pressed a few buttons frantically, monitors flashing to life all over the wall, showing pretty much the same empty rooms.

"Problem?" Giles smirked up at Samuel.


	6. Chapter 6

"_No turn to the left. Left!"_

"My left or your left?"

"_It's the same thing. I can see through your eyes remember."_

"Oh yeah." Buffy could almost hear Giles audibly sigh in her head. Right about now he'd take his glasses off and polish them for the hundredth time that day. Of course she'd never see him do that again now.

"_Buffy?"_

"Yeah? Oh sorry. Left, isn't it?"

"_Right. Well, yeah left. You know what I mean."_

"You know you British really got sort out that thing you do where you say 'right' all the time." Buffy held out one hand, waving it out in front of her as she turned left, hoping not to bump into anything. "I mean you could just say yes, it's much less confusing."

"_Rig- okay._"

Buffy giggled a little and continued to make her way along the wall, clinging to it as a sort of safety blanket. "How far do I need to go anyway?"

"_Shouldn't be far."_

* * *

"Tell me where she is Rupert!" Cutting the ropes that bound Giles hands, Samuel brought them round to the front of him, grabbing one of them harshly. Giles muffled a cry of pain as Samuel slipped the point of his knife beneath Giles fingernail, trying to control his heavy breathing as best as he could.

"I don't know."

"Wrong answer." Samuel pulled the knife up, snapping Giles fingernail in half, pulling the front half off. Throwing his head back, Giles screamed in agony, his fingers clenching together. "Let's try again." Samuel grasped one of Giles fingers and drew it out with a struggle, placing the knife sharply under the fingernail. "Where's the slayer?"

"E-even if I did know." Giles took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he turned his head to face the vampire. "I wouldn't tell you."

Samuel's eyes flared and he snarled. "We'll see about that." I pulled the knife up once more, another fingernail flying into the air, Giles cries echoing around the room.

* * *

"Giles? Are you still there?"

"_Of course I am."_

"Sorry you just went quiet for a moment."

"_I was just thinking." _Buffy frowned, her hands sliding along the wall, dipping round a corner.

"Hey Giles, do I turn here?"

"_Erm, I don't know, pop your head around the corner for a second."_

Raising an eyebrow, Buffy's tone grew a little more quizzical. "Pop?"

"_More British lingo."_ Giving a knowing nod, Buffy stepped hesitantly round the corner, turning her head down the new corridor.

"See anything?" Buffy asked unsurely and at a whisper, not wanting to attract attention to herself in her current state.

"_This is it! Go straight to the bottom of the corridor and hurry it up." _That last bit didn't sound very much like Giles, but she supposed he was speaking through her mind so it must be pretty stressful for him. Buffy didn't pretend to understand the magicks, but it seemed to work out pretty well most of the time so she just went with it. Already well on her way down the corridor, her pace seemed to quicken, like she was no longer afraid of falling or of something getting her. As long as she got to Giles she'd be okay. Buffy just hoped he was still okay.

* * *

"You're running out of fingernails fast gramps." Giles rolled his head forward, letting it hang loosely down. "Just tell me where she is and I can make your pain end." Shaking his head slowly, Giles groaned as he felt Samuel's hands in his hair, dragging his head upwards. "Tell me where the slayer is Ripper."

"I told you." Shaking his hand from Samuel's grasp, Giles pulled it back and struck the vampire along the jaw. As Samuel stumbled back, Giles stood from the chair, kicking it backwards. "Don't call me Ripper."

* * *

Buffy came to a stop as her hands met a solid wall in front of her. Slipping her hands slowly over the wall, she smiled a little as her fingertips slipped over the edges of what felt like a doorframe. _"It's locked so unless you found a key on your way down here, I'd suggest a good kick. Right in the centre… or wherever, I mean you're the slayer." _

Taking a step back, Buffy took a moment to think about it before calling out. "You're not in the way of the door are you?"

"_Just open it already!" _Not wanting to wait a moment longer, raised her leg and kicked the door open, the hinges squeaking weakly, as if they were on their last legs. Dust billowed out as the door flew open, causing Buffy to raise a hand to her mouth and cough. Stepping towards the new opening, she knocked on the door with a half-hearted laugh. "Knock-knock."

"Who's there?" The voice was no longer in her head; there was no need for it to be. But now she could hear it properly, it sounded even less like Giles.

"Giles?"

"What? You're saying you don't recognise me? Well don't recognise the sound of my voice at least."

Stepping back in shock, she held her hand out for support, staggering back against the wall. "Ethan Rayne?"

"Hello pet."

* * *

_A/N_

_Dun, dun, dun!_

_Well as far as plot twists go this is probably not one of the most creative. But I am but a simple man. With simple tastes and simple skills._


	7. Chapter 7

"Sonofabitch."

"That's me." Ethan smirked widely and pushed himself to his feet. His shirt seemed to be torn in a few places and it looked as if it had been drenched in blood. He'd managed to wrap a makeshift bandage, probably torn from his shirt, around the base of his right leg. His left cheek was sporting a brand spanking new scar that hadn't been there the last time Buffy had met him, and he looked distinctly older. Not that he didn't look old to begin with.

Rubbing her eyes, Buffy gazed in awe at Ethan, finding herself lost for words. And then it dawned on her that she could see again. Wait, what? She had to do a little backtracking in her head. So she'd busted the door open, expecting to find Giles. Instead found a much more annoying and less helpful British fellow. And then her sight had come back. In fact it had probably started to come back when she'd entered the room. Her mouth opened and closed, without any sound escaping her lips as she tried to think of something to say.

"Cat got your tongue?" Buffy's eyes narrowed and she strode towards Ethan, who seemed to quiver as she drew closer. Taking him by the collar, she pulled him forward slightly before slamming his back hard into the wall.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Long story." Buffy shook him, tightening her grip on his shirt.

"Gimme the abridged version."

"Like I said, long story. What do you want to know?"

Rolling here eyes, Buffy sighed silently, her head dropping slightly from fatigue. She felt like she could just curl up in the corner and sleep for a full week. Letting go of Ethan's shirt, Buffy stepped back from him, making sure to stand between him and the door. "Fine, how about, where are we? Where's Giles? Who the hell is Samuel? Why can I suddenly see again, and why couldn't I see in the first place?"

Ethan chuckled. "I thought you wanted an abridged version." Buffy's lips curled and she took a step forward, her fingers clenching into a tight fist. "Okay, okay! I don't know where we are, but I know that you sent me here. It's some sort of military installation that hunts demons." Ethan shook his head at the mere thought of it. "I was arrested after I turned poor Giles into a Fyarl demon." Ethan began laughing as he reflected on it, but soon stopped when he saw the expression on Buffy's face. "Oh come on it was a little funny."

"Ethan. I'm just waiting for an excuse to beat you senseless."

"Point taken." Ethan took a step backwards, away from Buffy. "Erm, what was the next one? Oh yes, where's Ripper? Well I can honestly tell you I have no idea. It's been months since I've left this room." Buffy grimaced a little. "What I do know is he's in this complex somewhere. That blasted vampire keeps asking me questions about him. Apparently he's interested in his old days as a magical rebel."

Buffy's lips parted in shock. She'd heard tales of Giles back in his Ripper days. In fact she'd seen Ripper first hand… with her mother. She shuddered and closed his eyes, shaking away that mental image. "You better hope we find him Ethan or it's your head on the line."

"Inspiring as always." Ignoring his comment, Buffy, began pacing slowly across the diameter of the room. "

"Who's Samuel then?"

"Well that one's a little tricky."

"What, is he some sort of special vampire? Does he have any abilities others don't?"

"No, no, nothing like that. He's just a normal vampire, nothing truly remarkable about him. Except for the fact he worships Grothello and thinks he's the vampiric embodiment of him."

"Grothello?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Grothello is the God of vampires."

Buffy stopped pacing and looked at Ethan open-mouthed. "What?"

"He doesn't really do much. He's a lesser God if truth be told, but he rules over a pretty nasty hell dimension. Anyway, Samuel thinks that he's the vessel for him. To prove him self worthy he has to kill the slayer."

"Then why hasn't he? I mean all he's done so far is torture me."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but he's not exactly the sanest of vampires."

Buffy shrugged her shoulders a little and nodded. She turned back around and continued pacing back and forth, as she pressed on. "What about my sight Ethan, why is it back all of a sudden? And why the hell did I lose it in the first place?"

"Ah. Well that one is partly my fault." Ethan hesitated for a moment, when he saw Buffy's head snap in his direction once more. "I.. uh, kind of told him about this dagger that erm… well I don't want to bore you with the details. Put simply, you anoint it with the blood of the person you want to blind, take someone else's life with it and presto, you get two birds with one stone."

"Did I ever mention how much I don't like you?"

"A couple of times." Ethan replied with a short nod.

"Okay… that part I get. What about the part where I can suddenly see again." Without speaking, Ethan stepped towards Buffy and placed his hand in his pocket. Removing his hand, he produced a small pebble and held in flat in the palm of his hand for Buffy to examine. "Ooh, a pebble." Buffy exclaimed unenthusiastically. "What does that have to do with… anything?"

"This pet, is the reason why you're not blind. It negates the effects of the dagger if in a certain range."

Buffy took a few seconds to assimilate what Ethan had just said but thinking in general had never really been her strong point. "Huh?"

"In laymen's terms, whatever the dagger does this cancels it out, but only up to a certain range, say 20 feet."

"So what you're saying is, I could take that little pebble, make a pretty tacky necklace out of it and I wont be blind anymore?"

"In theory. But things are never that easy Buffy. It requires magick to power it. You don't possess any magick, at all actually, which means I have to carry it."

Buffy held her hand up. "Hold on. All this thinking is making my head hurt. You're saying, if I don't want to be blind, I have to stay within 15 feet of you at all times? Suddenly blindness sounds a whole lot more appealing."

_

* * *

_

_A/N _

_Wow! Talk about a lot of exposition. Don't worry if you don't understand it, I had to re-read it a couple of times myself._


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm surprised you didn't know it wasn't Giles all along."

"Could you drop it?"

"Was it the accent? It's because we're both British isn't it?"

"Ethan." Buffy breathed out, rubbing her temples with one hand.

"I'm shocked at you slayer. You'd think you could tell us apart after all these years." Ethan held a hand to his chest a complete look of shock pasted across his face.

"Ethan!" Stopping in her tracks, Buffy rounded on Ethan. "Have I ever told you how annoying the sound of your voice is?"

"Once or twi-"

"Shut up!"

"Oh I'm sorry." Ethan motioned down the opposite end of the corridor. "Perhaps I should just leave you to it then and we could part of ways. Oh wait, you'll lose your vision and that we be such a shame." An inane grin crossed his lips and he began walk away from her.

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

Ethan smirked and took a dramatic step away from Buffy. Buffy flinched began to stride towards him. "You're like a child." She rolled her eyes and stepped up to him, raising one of her fists. "I will not hesitate to use this you know."

"Yeah, you've told me a couple of dozen times before." Holding up his hands as Buffy pulled her fist back, ready to hit him, Ethan chuckled hesitantly, keeping his eyes on her fist. "Okay! Let's just go." He waited a few seconds as Buffy unclenched her fist, still staring vehemently at him. "Lead the way." He continued with a sheepish grin.

Turning on the spot, Buffy shook her head, letting Ethan follow closely behind. "Do you have any idea where Giles actually is?"

"It was kind of hard to see where Samuel locked him up from my locked cell." He could almost see the rage building up in Buffy as she took a deep breath in. "I mean no. Sorry." Trust me to get stuck with the psychotic slayer.

"Well, he can't be far away from us right. I mean how big can this place be?"

"I don't know. It seemed pretty big last time I got a look around. Of course there were hundreds of demons running around so I didn't get chance to pick up a map."

"Whoa, what?" Buffy slowed down a little and walked besides Ethan. "What did you say?"

"I didn't get chance to pick up a map?"

"No before that!"

"Oh you mean the demons running around? Yes that was pretty crazy. It was like a revolution. Demons versus humans. Of course the humans didn't like me and the demons weren't too fond of me either."

Buffy began to glance around herself worriedly, things starting to become clear. Everything seemed so familiar yet… so distant. "Ethan, when you were arrested by the army commandos, where did they take you?"

Looking curiously at her, Ethan raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what she was getting at. "Erm, I don't know actually. They must have forgotten to tell me."

Sighing restlessly, she clicked her fingers. "Erm. Do you… did you hear about someone called Adam at all during that little 'revolution' of yours?"

"Now you mention it, I heard talk of him. I figured he was the leader of the demons or something like that."

"Ethan…" Buffy gulped loudly and laid one of her hands on the wall, running her fingertips along it. "I think we're in what's left of The Initiative."

"Huh." Ethan exclaimed, perplexed.

The two of them jumped as something thudded loudly. Turning to face the source of the sound, another two thuds rang out. Stepping over to Ethan, Buffy nudged him in the ribs lightly. "Stay close to me."

The corridor stayed silent for a few moments. Exchanging a puzzled look, Buffy and Ethan moved further down the corridor. The wall to their left suddenly burst open and someone flew through it, hitting the opposite wall with a loud crash and falling to the ground. Ethan gasped in shock, stepping behind Buffy for protection. "What the hell was that?" He whispered, scared to raise his voice too high.

The person that lay on the ground just ahead of them groaned in pain and began to get up. "Bloody hell." The figure said, with a sort of gruffness in his voice that was instantly recognisable to Buffy.

"Giles?" She could barely contain the joy that she felt as she ran over to him, her face practically beaming.

"I knew you knew where she was Ripper." Hearing a dark laugh behind her and turned around. Stood in the opening of the wall was Samuel.


	9. Chapter 9

"Such a Hallmark family moment." Samuel chuckled, referencing to Buffy as she cradled Giles in her arms. Stepping through the hole in the wall and over towards Buffy he bit his lip, grinning widely. Pushing herself up, she took a defensive stance, making sure to keep herself between Samuel and Giles. "You've been causing your friend Rupert some real trouble little lady. Let's just say he won't be needing a manicure any time soon." Striking out at him, Buffy landed a blow to his torso and followed up with another strike to the face. Samuel seemed oddly un-phased by this and merely shrugged it off. "Is that all you've got?" Raising his hand he blocked another punch Buffy sent his way and grabbed her fist tightly in his hand. He was strong, stronger than most vampires. As she went to raise her other fist, he pouted a little, shaking his head. "Ah, ah, ah!" Tightening his grip on her fist, he suddenly twisted it round, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the corridor. Buffy cried out in pain through reflex and pulled her hand back sharply. Staggering backwards she fell to her knees. "I thought you were supposed to be tough." Samuel remarked with a sneer.

Looking desperately up towards Ethan, her eyes widened. "I thought he was supposed to be an average vampire." She asked with a little annoyance in her voice. Ethan simply shrugged and stepped back into the shadows, just trying to keep out of the way. Looking over towards Giles, he seemed to be out cold and a small pool of blood was beginning to form around him.

"I'll admit slayer." Grabbing Buffy by the back of the hair, he brought her head down hard into his knee. "You've got guts." Letting go of her hair he grabbed her upper arm and spun her into the nearest wall. "I'll be feasting on them soon enough." Placing his hand on her throat he held her against the wall, his grip slowly tightening. Struggling in his grasp, Buffy kicked out wildly with one of her legs, her foot connecting with his crotch. His grip loosened immediately and she could already hear him groaning in pain as she fell down to the floor. Not wanting to give up this opportunity, she stood and hit Samuel across the jaw, then kicked him in the shins hard. The floor seemed to give way beneath him and before he knew it he was down on the ground.

Seeing the pool of blood gradually increasing in size around Giles, Ethan decided to forsake everything he believed in and put himself in danger to save someone else. Seeing his chance as Samuel went to the floor, Ethan stepped around him and went straight over to Giles. Crouching beside him, he placed two tentative hands on his arm and rolled his body over to reveal the source of the blood. There appeared to be a large scratch along his stomach where it looked like Samuel had gripped him and dragged his body around. Blood was running profusely from the wounds and it didn't look like it was going to be easy to stop. On TV, they usually tore someone's shirt sleeves off and used them as makeshift bandages. But Ethan really liked the shirt he was wearing. Maybe he could compromise. Reaching out he gripped Giles shirt sleeve and began to tear the material off.

Raising his head wearily, Samuel caught sight of Ethan and scowled under his breath. Rolling onto his back, he smirked up at the slayer who began to approach him. "So you let Ethan out, huh?" As she bent over him, Samuel pulled his leg back sharply and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying back into the wall with a dull thud. "Interesting choice." Getting to his feet Samuel took a moment to survey the slayer, who seemed to be struggling to get back up.

Placing the material of Giles shirt tightly over the wounds on his chest, he took Giles hand and placed it over the wound as well. "Rupert." With his free hand, he slapped him lightly across the cheek. "Rupert, now would be a good time to wake up." Slapping him a little harder he spoke a little more impatiently. "Erm... Buffy's in trouble?" Giles eyelids began to flutter open and his hand on his chest, began to tighten around the makeshift bandage. "Didn't think that would actually work." Ethan remarked with a light chuckle. Suddenly he found himself being dragged up to his feet.

Using the wall for support, Buffy finally managed to get to her feet. She raised her hand to her mouth and coughed hoarsely, glancing around herself, trying to get her bearings. Her eyes finally came to rest on Samuel who looked like he was talking to someone. Her head was pounding and her vision was blurry at best… which albeit was an improvement from about an hour ago. Samuel turned on the spot and Buffy could see that he was holding Ethan by the neck. Ethan grasped fleetingly for his neck, trying to pry Samuel's hand away. Grinning sadistically, Samuel lifted Ethan from the ground and spoke up. "Sorry Ethan. I don't require your services anymore."

Buffy could see his hand tightening around Ethan's neck, the life draining from his eyes as they fell shut. She watched in shock as Samuel threw Ethan's limp corpse across the room and into the wall. Buffy screamed out at the top of her lungs, holding her hand up in protest, watching helplessly as the small pebble fell from Ethan's hand. The corners of her sight began to fade into nothingness, and blackness began to overtake her. She cried out once more desperately for Giles as her vision faded completely.


	10. Chapter 10

There was a series of soft footfalls just ahead; followed by Samuel's eerie, maniacal laugh Buffy had grown accustomed over the past few hours. She stretched out behind herself with trembling hands, struggling backwards. Her fingertips met the wall and she scrambled towards it, pressing her back to it, almost curling into a ball to protect herself. Now there was no sound, save for her breathing and her heartbeat, thumping rapidly. Gulping deeply, she twisted her head from side-to-side desperately trying to listen out for Samuel. But there was nothing.

Pressing one hand to the cold metal wall behind her, Buffy began to push herself up slowly. She reached out with one hand ahead of her and waved it back and forth a number of times for good measure. She stood there for a few moments, almost afraid to move from that spot. Her first thoughts were frenzied at best, a maelstrom of fears and anxieties that cropped up in the front of her mind. How was she going to get out of here? What was she going to do? Would she ever get her sight back? Where was Samuel? Was Giles alright?

No… she didn't have time to question herself. She was in this predicament now and she wasn't going to get out of it by dwelling on that the 'what if's.' Slowly, Buffy began to move away from the wall, her steps light and careful. Holding one arm over her chest she gripped one side of her open jacket and tugged it further around herself as a sort of safety blanket. To her right she heard a few footsteps and whirled in that direction, but as soon as they were there, they were gone. Just behind her something shuffled and Buffy twisted round once more raising her fists. The sound stopped once more, leaving the corridor in complete silence once more. Footsteps could again be heard to her left and a few moments later someone chuckled just behind her. Turning in every direction on the spot, Buffy screwed her face up, trying to concentrate on the source of the sounds, which seemed almost impossible.

More footsteps could be heard all around her, each time she heard them they seemed to be growing closer and heavier. Something clanged sharply just behind her, like the sound of a metal object hitting another metal object. The sound repeated once more, this time sounding a little more distant. A new set of footsteps could be heard, gradually getting further and further away. With her chest heaving, her blood pumping and her heart racing, Buffy dared to move away slowly. One last clang rang out through the corridor, almost too distant away to be heard properly.

Opening her mouth to speak, Buffy found it had gone try and couldn't get her words out. Clearing her throat, she took a moment to compose herself. "Giles?" She called out timidly.

Another clang rang out, closer and louder than before, just behind her. Gasping in terror, Buffy turned on the spot, her whole body shaking as two more clangs rang out. Shaking her head, her lips quivering, Buffy stumbled back, almost tripping over herself as she began to run away from the clangs as they continued. Not sure where she was running or if she was about to run into a wall, Buffy sprinted down the corridor, not caring where she's end up. After a few feet, she bumped into something hard yet oddly, rounded. Falling backwards onto the floor, Buffy heart sank as she heard that piercing laugh from just above her. "Marco?" She asked with a little quiver in her voice.

Suddenly without warning what felt like a metal bar struck her across the face, sending her sprawling onto her front. "Polo." Samuel answered as he came down with the bar once more, hitting Buffy one the back with it. Buffy gasped in pain and rolled over, avoiding a third hit, the bar clanging against the floor where she'd just been. Her slayer instincts began to kick in and she jumped to her feet. Swinging out with one fist, she sighed as she hit nothing but air. Spinning on the spot she swung out with her other fist, hitting nothing once more. The bar came down on her arm, hard and fast, sending jolts of pain shooting through her. Holding up her arm in defence as the bar came down once more on it, Buffy fell to her knees, pretty sure her arm was broken.

"You never learn do you slayer?" Buffy could hear the bar being brought up just above her and held up her broken arm was once using it to block another swing. "You should have just stayed in your cell." Kicking her in the stomach, Samuel grinned as Buffy grimaced in pain. "I should have killed Rayne when I had the chance." Pulling the bar back, he struck Buffy across the face with it, smirking as blood dripped out from her mouth. "My master, Grothello usually doesn't like his sacrifices all bruised and battered." Samuel drew the bar back and gave Buffy a moment to recover. "But I'm sure he won't mind too much."

Grinning widely, Samuel brought the bar back again and brought it down. Reaching up with her broken arm, Buffy stopped the bar in its tracks and then with her arm, she reached out and grabbed onto the bar tightly. Pulling herself up, she dragged the bar from a stunned Samuel's hands and swung out with it, landing a hit in his ribs. Not giving him time to move, Buffy kicked the vampire hard in the stomach, pushing him backwards into the wall. Stepping towards him, Buffy took the metal bar and pressed the side of it across Samuel's neck. "It's you vampire's who never learn." Buffy said, pressing the bar firmly into his neck, using all of the strength she had just to keep it in place.

"Oh for Grothello's sake. I could do without the moral speech Slayer."

"Fine, have it your way." Pushing the bar, harder and harder into his neck, she gripped the bar tightly, shuddering as she heard bones snap and flesh break open, the metal bar slowly driving further into his neck. Clenching her teeth together, Buffy was glad she didn't have her sight right now. Despite her disgust at the action, she persevered until she felt the bar push all the way through his neck, and she heard that satisfying sound of a vampire turning to dust. Letting the bar drop to the floor, Buffy stepped away, whatever had been clouding her vision seemed to be clearing up. Looking down at her broken arm, she sighed at the sorry state it was in, blood dripping all over her jacket from the wound in her arm. "Damn… that was my favourite jacket. I'll never get the blood out."

Her head suddenly snapped up and her eyes widened as she remembered. "Giles!" Turning around, she rushed towards him, his body still lying against the wall. As she drew closer, she could see there seemed to be some sort of bandage across his chest. It didn't seem like Samuel would have done that, and Giles didn't look in a fit state to be able to make that. Laying a couple of feet to the left of Giles, Ethan's body stared lifelessly at the ceiling, his hand clutching onto a small piece of torn fabric. Staring at the fabric for a few seconds, Buffy reached over and closed Ethan's eyes, silently thanking him.

Buffy turned her attention back to Giles, her eyes beginning to tear up as she stared at motionless body. "Giles..?" She asked, as she approached him, laying a hand on his chest. "Giles?" Giles began to stir slowly, his eyes opening slowly and he coughed up a little blood. "Giles!" Buffy exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Giles closed his eyes, smiling as he placed one his arms weakly around her. "Buffy." He patted her back slowly and lightly, trying to catch her attention. "Buffy."

"Huh?"

"You're crushing my ribs… well what's left of them."

"Oh!" Pulling away from the hug with a small laugh, she smiled affectionately at him. "Are you okay?"

Giles smiled slowly and nodded. "Just another day in Sunnydale." He answered with a light chuckle.

Buffy chuckled along with him and nodded. "Let's get you out of here." She said, putting an arm around his shoulder.


	11. Chapter 11

The trek out of the Initiative complex was long to say the least, but Buffy and Giles were lucky enough to not run into any more trouble. In fact the only obstacle in their way was finding some sort of map. The place was huge. Buffy hadn't remembered it being this large before. After what had felt like a hours Buffy had seen something that looked familiar, something that was near one of the exits if she remembered correctly. Of course when they passed this same landmark several times, the two of them began to realise they might be going in circles.

Buffy let out a sigh of frustration and walked over to a stack of crates with Giles. "Come on, let's get you sat down." Keeping one arm around his waist, she guided him towards one of the smaller stacks and let him sit down on one of them. "I think we're pretty close to one of the exits."

Giles began to laugh a little, jolts of pain shooting through his chest as he did. Holding one hand over his mouth, he coughed loudly and grimaced, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall.

"Giles!" Rushing over to him, Buffy placed a hand around his shoulder and pulled him back up into a sitting position. "Come on Giles, don't go dying on me. We're almost out of here… I've got it all under control." She added with a little uncertainty in her voice.

With a weak smile, Giles looked up at Buffy and held up a hand in protest. "I'm fine. You should get out of here Buffy, I can look after myself. Besides, I'm only going to slow you down."

"Oh no. No, no." Buffy shook her head violently. "You don't get to do the dumb action hero thing where I go on without you." Perching herself on the crate beside him, Buffy looked over at Giles and continued. "Besides, you wouldn't last two seconds without me." She teased.

Stifling back a laugh, Giles held a hand to his chest and tried to control his breathing. Buffy watched him for a few moments, making sure he was truly fine and then glanced down at the crates they were sitting on. Furrowing her brow she jumped off the one she was on and turned to face it. Pulling it open she and Giles scanned its contents. Placing a hand in it, Buffy pulled out two flashlights and handed one to Giles. Flicking it on, Buffy shone the light over towards Giles, who held up a hand in front of his eyes and looked away. "Ooh, sorry." Buffy said apologetically, quickly turning the torch away.

Turning his own flashlight on, Giles began to scan the room with it, while Buffy's own flashlight began to flicker. "Oh come on!"

"Buffy."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Buffy tapped the palm of her hand against the side of the flashlight which only made it flicker more intensely.

"Buffy."

"Can you believe this?" Buffy exclaimed as she stuffed the flashlight back into the crate. "Well at least yours works." Buffy added as she looked towards Giles who seemed to be staring straight ahead in shock. "Giles?" She examined him for a moment and then turned around to see what he was looking at. Following the shine of the flashlight, she gasped as she realized what Giles was staring at. At the other side of room, someone stood facing them, pointing a gun straight at them. "Where'd he come from?" Buffy whispered to Giles, making sure not to move in case she angered him.

"I don't know. But I think it's best if we just stay right here." Giles whispered back, not taking his eyes off the man with the gun.

After a few seconds something crackled and the man pulled something from his jacket. Bringing it up towards his face, Buffy saw he had a radio in his hand. She could faintly make out someone was saying something on the other side but she couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Think I've found some survivors." The man waited for a few moments, listening to whoever it was on the other side of the radio. Giles and Buffy exchanged a brief and concerned glance, slowly raising their arms in the air in surrender. "Negative." The man said, keeping his weapon trained on them. "They do not appear to be hostile." The man went silent once more for a few seconds before going on. "Negative. No demons in sight. I'm going to make contact with them. I'll report back in 15 minutes. Evan's out." The man switched off his radio and began to step towards Buffy and Giles. On the way, he lowered his weapon and spoke to them. "What the hell are you two doing down here?"

"We could ask you the same question." Buffy replied.

"Ma'am, I work here."

Buffy raised an eyebrow curiously. "Erm, I don't know if you missed the memo but the Initiative got closed down. You know, there was a big revolt. Lots of people died. We're you on holiday or something?"

"I'm well aware of the situation. I'm here to do the clean up operation. There's valuable equipment down here. We're here to collect it."

"We?" Buffy and Giles asked together.

"Yes, we have three squads, all searching facility as we speak."

"So where were you guys when we were being attacked not so long ago."

"We haven't searched the sub-levels yet." The soldier paused for a moment and surveyed the two of them. "How did you say you got down here?"

"We didn't." Giles answered, jumping off the crates he was sat on.

Buffy stepped towards Giles and held an arm around him, not wanting to leave him unattended for along. "Look, we just need to get out of here. Can you show us the way or not?"

Without answering the soldier raised the radio to his mouth and considered her and Giles for a moment. Holding his finger down on the switch on the side he spoke into the radio. "Command, this is Evan's. I've got two civilians down here. I'm going to escort them out of here."

"_Copy Evan's. Be quick about it. We've got a lot of ground to cover."_

"Understood. Evan's out." Putting the radio back onto his belt, he looked back towards Buffy and Giles. "Alright, I'm gonna get you two out of here. Just stay behind me ma'am and you'll be okay."

"Oh you don't have to worry about me." Buffy added with a coy smirk.

* * *

_A/N _

_Yes that's right folks. It's nearly over, just one more chapter to go. _

_I've had a blast writing this and it's mostly been thanks to you, the readers. Thank you._


	12. Chapter 12

The metal door creaked open and sunlight burst through the opening in the doorway. Both Buffy and Giles turned away, squinting, the light levels unusual for them. How long had they been down there, Buffy thought as she raised a hand over her eyes. Turning on the spot, she could see the soldier already making his way back down into the base. "Hey!" She shouted after him. The soldier turned to face her. "Thank you." Smiling, the soldier gave her a quick salute and descended back into the Initiative. Turning to Giles, Buffy gave him a warm smile. "Well he was nice."

"Yes that makes a change." Giles remarked as he stepped out into the forest that lay beyond the entrance to the Initiative. "You don't suppose he's led us into some elaborately staged ambush do you?"

Buffy shrugged and followed Giles out. "Wouldn't surprise me." Standing beside Giles, she glanced towards the wound in his chest. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been better." He commented with a chuckle, turning his head to look at her. "What about you? You took quite a beating down there. Not to mention your temporary blindness."

"I'm fine. It's part of the job description. Haven't you seen the advert? You're in good hands with Allstate and Buffy."

Giles nodded his hand and grinned, looking back out into the woods. "I don't suppose we could call a cab home could we?"

"Nope… I don't really carry money around with me. What about you?"

"I must have left my wallet behind while I was being tortured to death."

"Figures." Buffy folded her arms across her chest, looking out into the woods. "Looks like we're walking home."

Giles nodded in agreement. "On the road again."

The two of them began walking away from the entrance to the Initiative and into the woods. "I bet that flamethrower would have come in real handy back there." Buffy commented with a sly smirk on her lips.

"You're never going to drop that are you?"

"Nope."

"Wonderful."

Buffy frowned a little. "Hey where do you think Xander and Willow are?"

The two of them through for a moment and then simply shrugged.


End file.
